1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to the field of electrical connectors, and more particularly to a connector having a locking device.
2. Description of Related Art
In the automotive industry, RF systems (GPS, external aerials for mobile radio, car radio etc.) are being increasingly integrated in the vehicles, and coaxial cables have to be laid and connected in the vehicle for these RF systems. Standards have been introduced in the USA and in Europe for such coaxial automotive connectors in order to make systems from different manufacturers compatible with one another. The existing standard in the USA is SAE/USCAR-18, and this corresponds to DIN standard 72594-1 (FAKRA) in Europe. The international standard is ISO-20860-1.
In this connection, the applicant already provides automobile connectors which are covered under the term ARC (Automotive Radiofrequency Connectors) and which have been developed as RF connector families specifically for telematics, multimedia, safety and security applications in automobiles and heavy goods vehicles.
This family includes angular connectors in which the coaxial cable to be connected is generally inserted into the connector such that it is bent back through 90° with respect to the plugging direction or plug axis. Angular connectors of this type for the automotive sector are disclosed, for example in DE-A1-10 2004 041 809 or DE-B3-103 39 965.
In order to secure an inserted plug connection, said connectors have a locking mechanism which latches in during insertion and can be unlatched again only by operating an operating element provided for this purpose. A locking mechanism of this type is described, for example, in the abovementioned document DE-A1-10 2004 041 809.
One disadvantage of the known locking mechanisms is that they lead to a relatively large overall length of the housing and are composed of a plurality of separate parts which have to be produced individually and then have to be assembled with a considerable amount of outlay. Furthermore, the known solutions are sensitive to external influences.